[HexcewlyRette]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38367462...-capitol_hill/

Rangel charged with multiple ethics violations

New York Democrat gave up Ways and Means gavel in February

A House investigative committee on Thursday charged New York Rep. Charles Rangel with multiple ethics violations, a blow to the former Ways and Means chairman and an election-year headache for Democrats.

The committee did not immediately specify the charges against the Democrat, but sources who could not discuss the allegations publicly said they include Rangel's misuse of official stationery, his use of rent-subsidized New York apartments and failure to publicly disclose financial information as required.

Rangel has served in the House for some 40 years and is fourth in House seniority. The charges by a four-member panel of the House ethics committee send the case to a House trial, where a separate eight-member panel of Republicans and Democrats will decide whether the violations can be proved by clear and convincing evidence.

The timing of the announcement ensures that it will stretch into the fall campaign, and Republicans are certain to make it an issue as they try to capture majority control of the House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi had once promised to "drain the swamp" of ethical misdeeds by lawmakers in arguing that Democrats should be in charge.

[Anamehuskeene]

http://www.foxnews.com/

Dean: Ethics Charges Could Get Rangel 'Thrown Out of Congress'

Published July 25, 2010
| FoxNews.com

Former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Sunday that the ethical charges against Rep. Charles Rangel are the kind of thing that could get him "thrown out of Congress."

The New York Democrat was charged by a House investigative committee Thursday with multiple ethics violations. Rangel was defiant after the charges were announced, saying he welcomes the opportunity to tell his side of the story and ridiculing a reporter who asked whether he was concerned about losing his job.

But Dean, speaking on "Fox News Sunday," said that while Rangel is owed a "fair process," Rangel may have a job security issue.

"This process has to work, and I'm proud to say the process is working," Dean said. "He did some things that look like they ought to get him thrown out of Congress, and if it turns out that he did them, he's going to get thrown out of Congress. And I think that's the way the process is supposed to work."

Those charges were not immediately specified, but the ethics probe has focused on a litany of issues. Investigators focused on whether he improperly used official stationery to raise money for a center bearing his name at City College of New York; whether he improperly used four rent-controlled apartments in New York City; whether he knowingly failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets; and other questions.